Legal firm puts Sherborne back on map

By Karen Bate karen@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A huge and beautifully illustrated map of Sherborne dating from 1834 has been presented by legal firm Porter Dodson to Dorset History Centre, where it will be available to view. The parchment map, which measures 2m by 1.3m, had for several decades been the focal point of interest in the firm’s board room, but due to an office relocation it proved impossible to accommodate the huge map in the new premises. Commissioned by the Wingfield-Digby family of Sherborne Castle, cartographer Thomas Percy created the map, and two copies were produced. The map is unusually detailed and shows the town of Sherborne and the surrounding countryside, with special colour codes for houses, churches, arable and pasture – the quality of the workmanship is still very evident nearly 200 years later. Each plot on the map is numbered with information about owners and land usage found in the map’s accompanying book of reference or ‘terrier’. The map is a vital resource for anyone interested in the history of Sherborne and stands as a very fine example of early 19thcentury cartography. The map will be carefully conserved and digitised. Porter Dodson solicitors can trace their roots in Melmoth House back to 1899.